Gaming PC ~$1000 First time build

[Atchu]

This will be my first build so any advice is appreciated.


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month.

Budget Range: ~$1000 cdn

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Skyrim eventually, LOTRO & misc. other modern and older games)

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Monitor, will be buying OS separately

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca, any other canadian store.

Country of Origin: Canada

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: eventually as an upgrade

Monitor Resolution: currently 1280x1024 but will be buying monitor later in the summer which will not be bigger than 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Quiet a plus. Will be running Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium or Pro. Will be needing a wireless card, no idea what is good to get there.


Current ideas:

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

MB:

MSI P67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH

GPU:

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

PSU:

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

HDD:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Case:

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I'm not sure about the case. I've been recommended that I should get a full size case. Do I need one with this build? I don't want anything flashy.

CD/DVD:
LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

Will probably buy the CD/DVD locally for comparable price.


All sensible comments are more than welcome

 

[nd_hunter]

That is a fine case. You don't need a full tower. Only thing I would change is the power supply. This XFX 650w is semi-modular, more efficient, is built better, and is cheaper (after rebate).

Also note that directcanada.com offers free shipping on all orders over $50. You might be able to save some money there.

 

[Why_Me]

This entire build is Free Shipping.

This build allows you to add another one of those factory over clocked gtx 560's later on for SLI.

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC5964&vpn=RC-922M-KKN1-GP&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $79.69
Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 5X5.25 5X3.5INT Front Audio USB eSATA No PSU

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15180AC6621&vpn=P1750SCAB9&manufacture=XFX $95.99
XFX 750W PRO750W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12980BD6220&vpn=P67A-GD55%20(B3)&manufacture=MSI $156,29 MIR. Savings: $20.00 - $136.29
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) P67 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E 2PCI SLI CrossFireX SATA3 USB3 Motherboard

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD1527&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=INTEL $206.54
Intel Core I5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC8843&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $24.69
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $81.95
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=25350DR0783&vpn=WD1002FAEX&manufacture=Western%20Digital%20WD $84.69
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530DR5213&vpn=DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk&manufacture=ASUS $21.32
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12980BD8066&vpn=N560GTX-TI%20Twin%20Frozr%20II/OC&manufacture=MSI $237.18 MIR. Savings: $15.00 - $222.18
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card

Total: $988.14 CAD *not including tax and mail in rebates

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_gtx560_twinfrozr_2/11.htm <--- review/benchmarks of that MSI card

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/02/21/msi_n560gtx_ti_twin_frozr_ii_oc_sli_review/1 <--- review benchmarks of that MSI card in SLI

 

[steven0724]

^ This! I have about 2/3 of these components in a build I just made less than a month ago and things are great.

The only slight tweak I might *personally* make is to switch from the Western Digital to a 1TB Samsung F3 Spinpoint. It might save you 10 bucks but I think the SATA speed is a bit slower. This is really just splitting hairs though. Why_Me's suggestion is solid.

 

[Atchu]

Thank you for the replies.

I think I'd rather buy from newegg.ca than directcanada though.

http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] acture=MSI $156,29 MIR. Savings: $20.00 - $136.29
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) P67 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E 2PCI SLI CrossFireX SATA3 USB3 Motherboard

Is there any particular reason you suggested this GD53 over the G43 I linked to? Just wondering what the difference is as I can't seem to see anything obvious.

http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] re=G.SKILL $81.95
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

I agree on 8GB and found a similar product on newegg
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL would that be acceptable?

http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] acture=XFX $95.99
XFX 750W PRO750W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze

750W to support SLI later down the road I assume.

Would something like this be acceptable? I don't have a clue about PSUs

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply


Again thanks for the comments.

 

[Why_Me]

MSI P67A-G43
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583 <----- This board doesn't support SLI, it only supports Crossfire unlike the board I posted that supports both. That means you can run dual AMD cards, but not dual Nvidia cards.


The RAM...well that's self explanatory. Faster RAM for cheaper ...the RAM I posted. In fact the bigger question is why would you even consider newegg canada when it's obviously more expensive. Simple math shows that.

As far as those psu's go...they are identical. Both are manufactured by Seasonic, both have the same specs, yet the XFX at direct canada is cheaper. Just about everything on that site is cheaper and free shipping.

 

[Atchu]

Ah duh I knew I was missing something on the specs. Thanks for clearing that up.

I didn't realize the prices where that different but now that I look at it more you are entirely correct. My mistake.

I like the CM case I picked better than that one so I'll keep that, otherwise I think I'll follow through the majority of your suggestions, after a bit more research of course.

One last question if you don't mind. Since I don't plan on Overclocking very much, is it worth getting a different heatsink rather than using the stock one?

Thank you very much!

 

[nd_hunter]

One last question if you don't mind. Since I don't plan on Overclocking very much, is it worth getting a different heatsink rather than using the stock one?

Thank you very much!

If you can afford one, I would say yes. With decent case cooling, a Hyper 212+ should let you get to a stable 4.5GHz and still have decent temps. If you don't plan on going that high now, it's still easier to install one when you first build your computer than adding one later. You can still use all 4 memory slots if you have ram with low profile heatspreaders.
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=1946101809P&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=Cooler Master

The Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B works even better, but it costs slightly more and will block a memory slot.
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14110AC6165&vpn=SCMG-2100&manufacture=SCYTHE